Red Maple will have local New Year’s Eve ‘ball drop’

Staff Report
    GUILFORD — Piscataquis County revelers don’t have to drive to Bangor to see a New Year’s Eve ball drop again this year. Just stop by the Red Maple Inn in Guilford around midnight on Wednesday, Dec. 31.
    Paul “P.Z.” Zimmerman, the inn’s operator, hopes the weather isn’t as bad as last year. “It was cold, the wind was blowing and we had a heck of a time up there (on the roof),” Zimmerman said. “But we still had a bunch of people outside watching it.”

    The weather forecast calls for chilly but clear weather Dec. 31.
    Zimmerman said he’ll use a hoist to gently lower a large, lighted beach ball from the inn’s roof and set off some fireworks to cap off the celebration.
    Entertainment that evening will feature the Roy Hudson Band from 9 p.m.-2 a.m.
    Bangor has had a city-wide New Year’s Eve celebration since 2006 with a lighted, beach ball drop in West Market Square at midnight.